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Instant Pot Refried Beans

Homemade refried beans can be made quick and easy using an Instant Pot! Instant Pot refried beans are easy, delicious, and so much cheaper than buying them in a can!

Homemade refried beans are one of my favorite things to make homemade. Not only do they taste great, they are much cheaper than buying them from a can.

They are also one of my favorite things to keep in the freezer. It is so easy to make a big batch of homemade refried beans and freeze them in small containers. Then you can enjoy homemade refried beans anytime you need them.

When I make refried beans I usually make my homemade slow cooked refried beans. I love making them in the slow cooker and have been making them that way for years.

I have been trying to use my Instant Pot more though so I decided to give refried beans a try in it and I loved the results.

I bought my Instant pot back in March, but I have been a bit slow at experimenting with it. I am regretting that. Now that I have started using it more, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite kitchen appliances. Things like cooking dried beans are the main reason why. It is so quick and easy! If you are curious this is the Instant Pot that I have.

Let me say this though. There is something that bothers me about many Instant Pot recipes. Many are deceiving when it comes to the time it says it takes. I have seen so many recipes that say 5 minute dinner in the Instant Pot. Or something like it only takes 10 minutes in the Instant Pot. Those things are usually deceiving.

You may be asking why it is deceiving.

Most recipes that say that do take that amount of cooking time, but it is not allowing for the coming to pressure or releasing pressure. A recipe may take only 10 minutes of actually cooking time, but it takes time to build up enough pressure to actually cook. Then you have to release the pressure. Even if you do it manually it take a few minutes. So if a recipe says 10 minutes cooking time, that does not mean that your dinner will be on the table in 10 minutes. You need to allow more like 30 minutes for the whole process. I wish more recipes were honest about that part. Not all Instant Pot recipes are as quick as they claim.

Now that we have that out of the way, let me say that cooking dried beans in the Instant Pot is so quick and easy! Not 10 minutes, but so much quicker than any other way I have cooked them. Not only that they are soft and delicious.

What I love about cooking dried beans, including these refried beans, in the Instant Pot is that they are quick and easy, even if I forget to soak the beans.

I can’t tell you how many times I have planned on making homemade refried beans and realized that I forgot to soak the beans. Now you can still make beans without soaking, but it usually takes a long time. Not in the Instant Pot though.

The actually cooking time is 30 minutes. When you add in the coming to pressure and releasing pressure you still have homemade refried beans, without soaking, in less than 1 hour. That is pretty good!

And they taste great!

If you have an Instant Pot and have not made refried beans in it, you need to. They are so good! We love them served with Mexican Rice for an easy meatless meal.

Tools that Make This Recipe Easier

Instant Pot Refried Beans

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped ( if you like it spicy leave the seeds in or use the whole jalapeno)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

4 cups water

2- 14 ounce cans chicken broth

1 tablespoon bacon grease ( Optional, but really good)

Place beans in a colander and rinse them well and discard the liquid.

Place beans and remaining ingredients in Instant Pot.

Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock into place. Be sure the valve is set to sealing.

Cook on manual for 30 minutes.

Let pressure release naturally. Do not use quick release.

When pressure has released remove lid.

Remove about 3 cups liquid from pot. Reserving to use if needed.

Puree beans using an immersion blender or let cool slightly and blend in a blender. Blend until desired consistency adding some of the reserved liquid if needed (If using a blender be carefully blending hot ingredients.)

Comments

The time issue is a pet peeve of mine too. I am annoyed with people saying thirty minute pot roast or whatever when it is is more like almost double that because of the time it takes to come to pressure. Having said that I love the convenience and especially now that we are getting the house ready to sell. I only recently started using the different features on my IP, and I love being able to slow cook again now that my crockpots are in storage. This refried bean recipe looks really good and easy. My guys will love it. I have a lot of pressure cooker cookbooks and I never use them because of blogs like yours! If a real person makes something and recommends it, I am more inclined to try it.

Yes, I do think they would taste okay. You could probably cut back the liquid a little too if you were not going to puree them. I actually have several regular mexican bean recipes, not pureed that I want to try to convert to the Instant Pot, so look for those soon. I will share them if they turn out well.

I have not tried doubling it. I think it might be too much doubled. I think 1 1/2 times would work though. It also would depend on the size of Instant Pot there are a couple different sizes of them. I hope you enjoy the beans. They are one of my favorite things to use my Instant Pot for.

I just tried this recipe. This is the first thing I have made in my new Instant Pot. How long does it take after the 30 minutes. Aren’t I supposed to let the pressure go down on its own? I have been waiting for over an hour – I see LO35 on the display. Have I done something wrong?

It usually takes 15-30 minutes for the pressure to go down. I am pretty sure the L035 is the number of minutes since it stopped cooking. So I don’t think you did anything wrong. It just takes time for the pressure to go down.

About Lynn

I love to cook and bake, and my family loves to eat. Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures is all about sharing my love of cooking, recipes, tips, and ideas of how I combine this cooking passion with a busy life. [Read More]